


Open to Suggestions- [Title WIP]

by Cornercrickett



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 08:40:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21715801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornercrickett/pseuds/Cornercrickett
Summary: Snape, Sirius, and Bellatrix never died. Hogwarts has been closed for at least a year since the battle. Some of Harry's classmates have chosen to return, others (including Harry and Ron) have gone on to new things.The rest is open ended. This is an experiment. We'll see where it goes. I'm writing this because my husband is out of town and there isn't enough Draco/Hermione/Theo to go around. And there needs to be oh so much more. I know we're all waiting for "Everything Nice" ^-~,  Unedited and completely raw so be nice, but constructive.P.S.- The title is actually Open to suggestions. Let me know if you have any ideas! :]
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FallenWings21](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenWings21/gifts).

> Be nice and I might post more. ^_~,

Hermione Granger closed her eyes in the fog and ground her teeth. Of course she would find herself partnered with the single most obstinate person in the wizarding world and asked to complete an impossible task. This _was_ N.E.W.T. level potions after all. With Snape being the ever present potions master. What had she expected? 

She took a deep breath and looked towards the person at her right. “I’m afraid I can’t see you at all. Who are you?”

The indistinguishable figure seemed to reach out toward her as he responded. “Theodore Nott. At your service milady” She could practically hear Malfoy roll his eyes behind her as she reached out to take the young man’s hand.

Of course she knew who Nott was. But she bit her tongue as she shook hands with the son of the wizard who’d left so much destruction in his path. The contact felt strangely normal. Not evil or ice cold as something deep in her bones told her it should be. His handshake was firm, warm, even casual.

McGonnagal’s speech was heavy on her mind as their hands parted. _“I urge you to remember that every witch or wizard present has been affected in some way or another by this war. We are all working to rebuild our society together. Now more than ever, we must remember that we are all products of the same broken system.”_

Hermione exhaled slowly before responding. “Pleased to meet you.” Pinned between two Slytherins. Both of them the sons of known death eaters. Great. She was just going to have to make the best of this situation.

Draco scoffed at her left. “Well if the two of you are both quite finished. How do you suppose we solve this little conundrum?”

Hermione turned to look in Draco’s general direction. She couldn’t see him at all. The entire classroom was filled with a thick grey haze. Pea soup just didn’t cover the scope of this fog. Snape had waltzed into the room about five minutes ago and explained in curt tones to the class that their goal was to be the first group to find a vial of felix felicis hidden somewhere in the room. They would work together in groups based on the table at which they sat. The group who found the potion would be allowed to keep it. The task was meant to be completed by the use of potions. Wands were only to be used in the construction of a potion and a violation of this rule would mean immediate expulsion from the class. She honestly expected no less from Snape.

“The first step” Hermione said in a huff, “would be to identify the ingredients we’ve been given as best we can.” Several bundles of ingredients were laid out on the table in front of them. She’d discovered this when she’d unshrunk her cauldron on the table and it had nearly toppled over, being set on top of the debris when it regrew.

“Brilliant Granger.” Draco drawled. “A truly fucking obvious observation from the brightest witch in our year.”

“Oh stuff it Malfoy!” her cheeks burned. Was he really giving her shit already? Hadn’t they all been through enough? Of course Malfoy still felt the urge to be a completely insufferable git. What else could he be? Well, she was determined not to let him get to her so easily.

“Theodore, what do you think this might be?” She held a bit of soft grassy substance out towards him.

“I’d say that’s either dittany or puffbloom” Nott responded almost immediately. His fingers brushed against hers as he removed the small bundle of herbs.

Hermione prodded around at the various piles in front of her. “This is definitely gillyweed. Most likely a red herring.” she pushed it to the side.

“Fly amorite.” she heard, rather than saw Malfoy drop a pile of mushrooms on the table in front of her.  
They went on like this for some time, an apparent peace of sorts developing in their mutual desire to perform well on their first day in the class. Each one in turn identifying an herb and then attempting to arrange it in front of them in some semblance of blind organization.

Finally they reached the point of no return. The three of them had to agree on some method involving the identified materials. “Snape has obviously brewed and obscurus infinito” Malfoy drawled. We simply have to brew the antidote.”  
Hermione chewed her lip. “That’s a wildy complicated and intuitive brew. It could take days to work out a potion to negate the original. That’s assuming we knew the initial potion’s ingredients which are almost impossible to ascertain without a sample and extensive testing. We have less than two hours to find a solution”

“Know it all.” She heard Malfoy’s boots land atop the table as he leaned back next to her.  
“Well Granger, I’m assuming you have a better idea?”

Hermione sat silently for a moment. She wasn’t thrilled with her partners but she was certainly enjoying the challenge of the lesson. “Not exactly. I have an idea but it’s risky at best and dangerous at its worst.”

“Go on.” Nott’s voice was low. His robes brushed against her arm as he leaned forward.

“Well, we could attempt to brew the opposite of a confusing concoction. A sort of… clarity concoction with a bit of luck added in. If we manage to get the balance just right, we could not only see through the fog but see our own goals achieved immediately within this room.”

“That sounds more than risky Granger. It’s idiotic. Purely Griffyndor.” Malfoys response was disdainful.

“Draco’s right on some level. Brewing an unknown potion is inherently risky. But I wouldn’t put it past old Sevvy to expect us to come up with something original in order to succeed. It might be our best bet.”

After some deliberation and quite a lot of unfriendly bickering on Hermione and Draco’s part, the trio agreed they would try to brew Hermione’s mystery potion. Between the three of them they had a very good chance of success as far as she could reason. It turned out that Malfoy’s Potion skills were second to none. He diced and measured with an accuracy that made Hermione reluctantly reverent. Meanwhile Nott had an uncanny knowledge of the ingredients laid out before them and their individual reactions. As the next hour came to a close Hermione found herself quite optimistic about the state of the whole venture.

Soon enough it was time to add the final ingredient. Just as Malfoy sprinkled exactly the right amount of powdered rue into their cauldron, a commotion broke out somewhere behind them. No one in the group could tell exactly what was happening but the sound of scraping chairs was distinctly audible just before an enormous force hurled Hermione off her feet and into the front wall of the classroom. Stars dazzled before her eyes and then everything went quite suddenly black.


	2. Checking in

Hermione’s lashes fluttered. Her lids felt absurdly heavy and when she finally managed to open her eyes everything was so overwhelmingly bright. She thought she saw a flash of blurry red hair against a white background before she had to shut her eyes again. Her heartbeat was pounding in her head and there was a ringing in her ears. “Ron?” she muttered. 

“No, it’s me.” She could barely hear the young girl’s voice. It sounded like she was talking underwater. _“Gillyweed” _ Hermione thought. _"No, that can’t be right."_ She struggled to open her eyes again and saw Ginny Weasley standing beside her wearing a worried frown. “Ron and Harry were here but they’ve gone out to get some food. Hang on just a second. Let me get Madame Pomfrey.”

She was in the infirmary? Everything was so fuzzy. “No Ginny wait.” Hermione reached out to her. “Tell me what happened.” 

Ginny’s frown deepened. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. We need to make sure you’re okay.” Hermione’s vision blurred again and Ginny’s face Melted into blackness.

…...  


Someone was shouting.

“You have no right to be here Malfoy! Hermione doesn’t want you here and neither do we! Why don’t you go and dig yourself a hole to hide in you fucking cowardly ferret faced bastard? That’s the only thing you’re good for!” 

“Strong words coming from someone who actually calls his home a burrow. What’s wrong Weasleby? Worried I’ll show you up in front of your girlfriend?” Malfoy’s response was cool and even.

“That’s it! Get the hell out of here or I’m going to punch you right in your stupid ferrety mouth!” Hermione opened her eyes just in time to see Harry grab Ron by the shoulder and step in front of him. 

Malfoy snorted. “Is that the only insult you can come up with? You’re really incapable of bringing any originality whatsoever to the table aren’t you?” 

Hermione managed to turn her head and look around. Things were coming into focus slowly. She was in a small room with plain white painted walls that she’d definitely never seen before. She could see Theodore Nott leaning against the wall by the door. His eyes were trained on Malfoy and Ron. Ron’s face was contorted and flushed. So much so that he looked like a grotesque puce gargoyle. No one in the room was looking at her.

Harry stood between his friend and Malfoy clearly trying to temper the storm that was Ronald Weasley. “You’ve got to calm down mate.” 

“No way am I going to let his slimy mug be the first thing she sees! How do we even know he wasn’t responsible for this whole mess? Come back to witness your own handiwork haven’t you!?”

“Ronald ... must you be so loud?” Every eye turned to her as she spoke. Her voice was weak and cracking. The door burst open and Madame Pomfrey whisked into the room. 

“All of you will leave immediately! This kind of behavior is absolutely not conducive to Miss Granger’s recovery!” The authority and disdain in her voice brought everyone to a sudden halt. “Out! Now!” The entire group of boys left the room with their heads hung low. Except for Nott. Hermione was pretty sure she’d seen him give her a small smile before he turned to follow Malfoy out the door.

Madam pomfrey turned to Hermione, “Oh you poor thing. How are you feeling?” 

“A little confused.” Hermione admitted. “My ears are ringing and I’ve got a serious headache.” 

“Well that much is to be expected dear. It will fade with time. You’re very lucky actually. You’re suffering from a nasty concussion as well as a few minor scrapes and bruises.”

Scrapes and bruises. Her whole body hurt. “Please, Madame Pomfrey. Why am I here?”

“Oh no. You don’t remember anything?”

Hermione thought for a moment. She’d been in the potions room. Reaching into her own mind was like groping around in thick muddy water. Very frustrating. “Potions…” she murmured. 

“Yes dear. There was a terrible accident. As I said you were quite lucky really. But no worries you’ll be back to normal in no time at all. You just need some rest. Now drink this.” Madame Pomfrey pushed a cup of steaming purple liquid to her lips and Hermione swallowed the sticky substance with only a little reluctance. Warmth spread through her limbs and the ringing in her ears thankfully faded. She laid her head back against the pillows and let sleep wash over her once again.

…...  


She woke in the middle of the night to see the full moon shining through the lone window in her small room. It washed over the white walls and bounced off the light strands of Malfoy’s hair strewn across her bedsheets where his head lay. _Wait._ She must have it all wrong. Her rattled brain was playing tricks on her. She stared hard at Malfoy’s sleeping form. He was slumped on the floor beside her bed. His head rested on the mattress beside her hip and his hand lay on the sheets next to hers. The moonlight gave his hair a soft silvery quality that was almost ethereal. 

“Hello there.” Her gaze slid up toward the lean figure sitting in a chair beside her. “We were starting to think you would sleep forever.” Theodore Nott leaned towards her. “Forgive the intrusion. We only wanted to make sure you were all right. Draco especially.”

Hermione blinked. Her head didn’t hurt anymore and she could see Nott’s outline clear and crisp against the moonlight. Though she couldn’t make out the details of his face. “I’m sorry?” She kept her voice low in response to his near whisper. Truthfully it was just about all she could manage. Her throat was tight and her tongue felt thick in her mouth.

“Since when has Draco Malfoy been particularly worried about my well being?” Hermione was starting to think she might be dreaming. Everything looked just a bit too stark. The room was all shadows and harsh white moonlight. 

The young wizard responded. “To be frank, he doesn’t like to see you hurt again. Brings back bad memories I think.” 

Hermione shuddered and looked down. Her arm was bare and she could see the ugly letters in jagged white lines against her skin. Did Draco remember that night the same way she did? She couldn’t see Malfoy’s face beneath his hair but all of the malice and contempt she’d come to expect from him seemed to have fallen away as he slept. He looked almost angelic. She shook her head silently. This was too bizarre.

__

__

__

__

“We _both _ wanted to see that you were okay.”

Hermione sat quietly for a moment groping again for her own memories. Of course. She’d been in the potions lab and something had gone horribly wrong.

“What happened?” she whispered.

“Something went sideways with Finnigan’s potion. To be honest I’m not even sure how he made it into that class. Nasty explosion. Knocked half the room on it’s arse.”

Hermione nodded slowly. That made sense. It certainly wasn’t uncommon for Seamus to blow up a thing or two. 

“Is everyone else okay?” She was pretty sure Earnie Macmillan and Luna Lovegood had been sitting at Seamus’ table.

“Finnigan is pretty messed up. They sent him to St. Mungo’s. A few people got knocked into spilled potions and had some odd side effects. Macmillan still has a green tinge to him but he’ll be alright. Other than that you took the worst of it. Knocked your head straight into the wall.” Nott leaned in and brushed his thumb over her knuckles causing Hermione to shiver before his hand came to rest on top of Draco’s beside her. Malfoy was still sound asleep. “Do you need anything?

“No, thank you Theodore. I think I just need a little more sleep.” The quiet conversation had been a bit too much for her, and her head was beginning to spin again. Her vision swam softly in front of her. 

“Call me Theo, please. Go ahead and rest Granger. We need you to get better. You make a pretty good potions partner.” 

Hermione could barely process what he was saying. Everything was going fuzzy again. Sleep was coming whether she wanted it to or not. “You’re not so bad either.” She mumbled almost incoherently before allowing her eyes to slide shut once more. 


	3. Proud Promises

A tidy cottage sat atop the moss covered slopes of a vast green hill. The hill itself was miles away from the nearest town, a place called Beddanbury. The windows of the cottage emitted a soft orange glow that would have seemed warm and welcoming if there’d been any neighbor or passerby to witness it. 

As it happened there was no one around and that was probably a good thing. It meant that no one could hear the sound of two people shouting as it spilled over the hedges through the open kitchen window. John T. Proudfoot was arguing with his wife again. This wasn’t something they did all the time, but it had become a regular activity over the past few days. Since the Auror’s office had assigned him a week long guard posting halfway across the country.

“Ami, for the hundredth time. It’s as safe as any other job out there. Safer even. Would you rather I join Sirius Black’s hunting parties? Surely this is better than roaming the countryside searching for war criminals.”

“It’s not safe John. I just know that it’s not safe. Why can’t you just listen to me?” Her voice was watery and trembling.

He was listening to her. Amileene had always possessed a certain knack for predicting things. For instance, she frequently predicted the outcome of political events or disagreements between friends with astounding accuracy. She’d known their baby would be a girl before they had even settled on the idea of her conception. Discussion on the subject had been peppered with telling pronouns. But his witch was a worrier. Her prescience was by no means dependable. Sometimes she got carried away in regards to these feelings and often it turned out that she was simply giving credence to her own fears. 

Explaining this to Amileene again was out of the question. John had learned the hard way that it would only serve to infuriate her. “You know there aren’t many fully trained Aurors left. We all have to take our turn in places like these. It’s important for the wizarding world and the muggle one that we keep them guarded; Keep others away until a team can be sent to clear the area.” 

Amileene wasn’t having it. She rounded on him with eyes full of tears and spite. “What about me? What about our daughter? Who will keep us safe when you’re _gone._” 

John misunderstood. “The cottage and the hillside are coated in all the best wards and warning systems. The Auror’s office will be alerted long before anyone thinks of setting foot on this property.” He realized his mistake when she turned her back on him and he was left staring at her soft brown tresses in the yellow light. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed deeply. For a long time, the sound of pots and pans clanging as they washed themselves furiously in the sink was the only thing not overtaken by her seething silence. 

“Mon Ami.” John whispered as he stepped forward and pulled her hair back over her shoulders. “Please try not to worry so much.” He turned her around gently and took her tear streamed face in his hands kissing her softly on the cheek. “I will be careful. I promise.” He trailed a feather light string of kisses down to her mouth and kissed her lovingly there before wrapping his arms around her. The dishes ceased their raucous assault on one another. “I’ll be back in just seven short days. You’ll see love. Everything is going to be okay.” 

The tension melted away from Amileene in her husband’s embrace and her shoulders slumped as she buried her face in his shoulder. She wasn’t crying anymore, but she didn’t say anything to agree with him. They stood there, each listening to the sound of the other breathing in the quiet space until the soft wail of a baby’s cry met their ears. “Come on” Ami whispered. “Lets go and tuck her back in together.” John took her hand and followed her out of the room. 


	4. Catching up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, the hubby is back and I'm still writing! For those of you waiting for the Slytherins to play a more prominent role, keep your pants on. It'll happen when it happens.

Hermione woke the next morning to the sound of Harry and Ron bickering over chocolate frog cards. Her bedsheets were covered in brightly colored wrappers and a display of unwrapped sweets. “Don’t you two have any respect? I mean honestly. You managed to cover me in trash while I was sleeping?” 

Harry’s mouth split into a huge grin and Ron stared at her with wide eyes, a twitching frog leg still hanging out of his mouth. 

“‘Mione!” He exclaimed, spitting out the chocolate appendage before throwing his arms around her. She returned his embrace a bit awkwardly. Ron seemed to remember himself all at once as he stiffened and pulled back. Hermione couldn’t stop the nervous laughter that followed. Things had certainly been a bit odd between them since they’d called their relationship off.

“It’s good to see you too Ron.” She said, watching him wipe his hands on his jeans.

“It’s fantastic to see you. Awake and well I mean.” Harry looked at her with his eyes shining. “We were worried. You’ve been so out of it for days.”

She stretched her arms and legs experimentally under the starchy white bed sheets. Wrappers and frog boxes tumbled to the floor around her. “I do feel well, actually. But what are you two doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be training at the ministry?” 

“We were but McGonnagal owled us. She tried to get in touch with your mum and dad but...” Ron looked down at the ground..

Hermione’s heart clenched at the mention of her parents. 

“Sorry.” Ron mumbled. His shoulders were drawn up nearly to his ears as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.  
Hermione sighed “Really Ronald, it’s fine. I’m just glad the two of you are here. Especially,” she added “Because I’m dying to hear about your training! You must tell me everything!” 

The change of subject worked wonders and Ron’s demeanor changed entirely. “It’s bloody brilliant! We’ve been working with this bloke called Proudfoot and he’s taught us all sorts of things. You wouldn’t believe how good we’ve gotten at sneaking around. Even Mrs. Norris would have trouble keeping up.”

“Ron’s right” Harry nodded before handing her a cup of hot tea. “Nevile’s doing well too. Believe it or not he’s gotten scary good at dueling. Plus he knows so much about plants and it’s turned out to be really useful. Every auror in training is assigned time in the ministry greenhouse. Neville helped me out of a nasty scrape with a pot of man eating dandelions.” 

Ron snorted “Narrow miss, that. They almost had you by the---” he was cut short as Harry elbowed him hard in the ribs. Ron didn’t miss a beat. “More like man-hood eating dandelions.” 

Hermione coughed and sputtered. Spilling tea all over herself as she struggled not to laugh. Harry tried to redirect the conversation. “Sirius has been helping us with dueling practice when he’s around, which isn’t that often. He’s got loads to do chasing down what’s left of the death eaters and clearing out their haunts with Mr. Weasley.” 

Hermione’s brow furrowed as she looked at Ron “Your dad is working with the Auror’s office?” 

Ron bit back a final snicker before responding. “Well not with the hunting bit or anything. But yeah he’s been called in to help clear out curses and dark artifacts. It’s a big job.”

“That sounds dangerous.” Hermione had never been comfortable with the idea of her best friends becoming Aurors, but she knew she couldn’t do anything to stop them. The idea of Mr. Weasley being involved in such shady business didn’t appeal to her at all. The Weasley family had already lost too much.

Harry picked up on her concerns right away. “Don’t worry Hermione. Arthur’s really good at it. Not to mention he’s got Sirius with him most of the time and no one knows more about clearing out death eater houses than he does.” Harry’s eyes shone with pride when he spoke about his Godfather and Hermione found herself silently giving thanks for the hundredth time that Sirius had come into Harry’s life. 

Madame Pomfrey held her prisoner in the infirmary for almost the entire day despite Hermione’s insistence that she was perfectly fine thanks to the medi-witches’ excellent care. 

The trio passed the time catching up between visits from what seemed like every person they’d ever met at Hogwarts. News that she was awake seemed to have spread through the castle quickly and the room was flooded with well wishers bearing gifts of all shapes and sizes. There was even a group of first year Hufflepuffs who she’d only seen for the first time during sorting and had almost certainly never spoken to. 

Hermione shot a quick glance at Harry as the girls entered the room. She was rewarded with a small empathic smile. Harry was no stranger to such onlookers but she could never get used to the unwanted attention. 

The giggling group of girls had, however gotten more than they’d bargained for on their sightseeing expedition. One look at Harry and Ron and their nervous merriment was transformed to silent awe. They’d brought Hermione an assortment of magical face masks that peeled away on their own and a few of Finnigran’s Fizziest Bath Bombs which they delivered to her bedside with shaking hands. Hermione could not have been less interested in these things but she thanked each of them individually anyway before Madame Pomfrey rushed in and ushered the little tourists out of the room.

Luna Lovegood stopped by in the early afternoon and her visit was a welcome respite. “How’s it going Luna?” Harry welcomed her with a smile and a warm hug.

“Harry what a nice surprise. Things are going quite well considering.” Luna responded in her usual mellow voice. The way she spoke always seemed to Hermione as though the young woman was floating high above them. Merely looking down and making dreamy observations as they moved about below her like ants. 

“Whatcha got there?” Ron was pointing to the enormous stack of paper in her arms.  
“Well I brought some notes for Hermione from potions class. She’s missed almost the entire first week and I thought she could use them to catch up.” Luna turned to face Hermione “ I hope you’re feeling better. There’s also a few copies of the “Quibbler” to keep you from getting bored.” 

“That’s very kind of you Luna, thank you so much.” Hermione responded, trying hard to ignore the small fluttering panic in her chest at the mention of all the classes she’d missed. She doubted she would have any time for leisure reading in the foreseeable future.

“Yes, there’s a quite good article about renegade hippogriffs in one of those Harry. You might want to take a look.” Luna sat the stack on the bedside table where it teetered dangerously.  
Harry raised an eyebrow. Buckbeak had been missing for about a month and Sirius was in a state about it, but how could she possibly know that?

“Oh!” Luna exclaimed softly, rescuing a small vase of iridescent purple flowers from impending doom next to the tower of literature. “These are beautiful Hermione! Where did they come from?”

“I’m not sure.” Hermione looked to her friends. Harry shrugged and Ron was beginning to look bored. His eyes glazing over in a way that had become common when Luna was around.

Hermione hadn’t noticed the little blooms until now and she found herself captivated as Luna held them up in the sunlight. The petals appeared to be made of paper thin crystal, and the light refracted beautifully as it shone through them. She could hear a faint tinkling sound as Luna turned towards her, like delicate bits of glass falling against one another. The sound was almost musical. “I believe these are egyptian glass violets. I’ve never seen one before. They’re supposed to grow only on the banks of the nile and bloom once every three hundred years. Some people think they grant a powerful protection charm to the owner.”

“Just looks like a silly little plant to me. Probably just enchanted to look like glass.” Ron chimed in, already half asleep in a chair by the window. 

Luna set the little vase down carefully in a safer spot on the opposite side of the room.  
“Maybe, but you should be able to tell eventually. If they’re the real thing, the blossoms won’t fade for as long as the witch or wizard who picked them lives. A beautiful sentiment really.” She gave the flowers one last starry eyed glance. “Well I’ve got to be going now. I hope the notes are useful Hermione.” 

“Sure Luna thanks again. I hope to see you soon!” Hermione waved goodbye and steeled herself for the next visitor, whoever they might be.

Just before dinner, Hermione was finally granted clemency and discharged to her dormitory with a clean bill of health. Harry and Ron dutifully helped her gather the assortment of gifts and classwork and haul the whole lot of it back to her room in Gryffindor tower. The last thing she took from her hospital room was the little vase of flowers. Hermione had never really thought of herself as a flowers kind of girl, but these were certainly different than any she’d ever seen. It was likely to be just a normal arrangement altered to appear extraordinary, but Luna’s words lingered in her mind as she picked them up and headed out the door.  
_“A powerful protection charm…A beautiful sentiment....but who would bring her something like that?”_

  


.....

  


Dinner in the Great Hall was a riotous affair from the beginning, something Hermione had been thoroughly unprepared for. The floating candles that filled the enormous room glittered and gleamed under the night sky as most of its’ inhabitants stood, clapping and cheering when the trio entered. Hermione supposed she should have expected as much. Many of her classmates hadn’t seen Harry or Ron since the war had ended. Still, she was taken aback by the warm welcome. 

When the hubbub finally died down, she gratefully took a seat between Harry and Dean Thomas. “Good to see you’re back on your feet Hermione!” Dean said as he clapped her on the back. 

“It’s nice to be back on my feet” She smiled at him briefly before her asking him the question on the forefront of everyone’s mind. “Dean, how is Seamus, have you heard anything?”

“Oh he’s doing much better. His mum has been sending me owls almost daily. It’s been a rough week but it looks like he’s going to make a full recovery. It’ll take some time though. Not sure he’s gonna make it back to school this year.” Hermione nodded in understanding. If Seamus was out for too long he wouldn’t be able to catch up. She would be lucky if she could make up for the time she’d already lost. 

Ron leaned over Harry’s plate to interject. “Well when he’s better I’m sure he could join up with us. Anyone who fought in the battle’s welcome according to Sirius.”

Harry pushed his friend out of the way and helped himself to a pile of roast beef. “We’d be happy to have him. Good aurors are hard to find these days.”  
Dean winked at Harry. “I’ll let him know when I see him. Not sure his mum would be too happy to relay that particular message.” 

“I bet not.” Hermione replied before taking a look around the room. Seamus’ wasn’t the only face absent in the Great Hall this year. A large number of students hadn’t returned for one reason or another. Parvati and Padma Patil were missing as was Lavender Brown. Neville of course was training to be an auror, along with Justin-Finch Fletchley and Terry Boot. Then there were others of course... Hermione swallowed and stared down at her food, which looked suddenly less appetizing. 

“Where’s Gin?” Ron’s voice shook Hermione out of her reticence. 

“Not sure.” Dean replied. “But I saw her in the Library earlier. She’s probably pulling another late night studying. She’s been hitting the books hard since we got back.”

Hermione was distracted by a prickling sensation at the base of her neck. She turned toward the Slytherin table which was pretty sparsely inhabited in comparison to the others. Almost immediately she locked eyes with Draco Malfoy. The moment Malfoy realized she was looking at him he turned back toward Theodore Nott so quickly he nearly knocked over his pumpkin juice in the process. Odd. Malfoy was usually graceful in everything he did. _ Had he been watching her? _ Something niggled at the back of her mind. _ A dream maybe? _ She watched the Slytherin table for a few more minutes before returning her focus to the excited chatter of her own friends. 

The meal seemed to go on forever and as much as Hermione was enjoying the company of her friends it had been a very long day, eventually she realized she was more than wiped out; she was ready to drop. “I think I’m going to go up and lie down for the night.” She told the group of boys. Harry turned to her with eyes full of concern. If she looked anything like she felt the look was understandable “You go on ahead Hermione. Ron and I will be up in a bit. We just want to say hi to Hagrid first."

She nodded and drug her heavy limbs up and away from the table, wishing everyone a heartfelt good night as she went.


End file.
